AMMON & KERSHNER READING, PA

RECIPES FROM MY FRIENDS

RECIPES FROM MY FRIENDS 41

42 RECIPES FROM MY FRIENDS

RECIPES FROM MY FRIENDS 48

44 RECIPES FROM MY FRIENDS

RECIPES FROM MY FRIENDS 45

46 RECIPES FROM MY FRIENDS

Some hae meat that cannot eat, And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat and we can eat Sae let the Lord be thank it."

Meat is in general one of the most digestible of food ma- terials, but it is undeniably one of the most expensive items in the food bill of the ordinary family.

It is important to reduce waste by using as much as possible of the bone, fat, and trimmings not usually served with the meat itself. If nothing better can be done with them, the bones and trimmings can always be used in the soup kettle, and the fat can be saved for cooking, thus saving the more expensive butter and lard. Let us look into the three most common ways of using meat.

Boiling— If a piece of meat is plunged into boiling water or very hot fat, it prevents the escape of the juices and flav- oring matters. Thus cooked it retains all its flavoring matter and has the desired meaty taste. The resulting broth is cor- respondingly poor. These statements will be of much help in the rational cooking of meats in water. The treatment de- pends largely upon what it is desired to do. It is impossible to make a rich broth and have a juicy, highly flavored piece of boiled meat at the same time. If the meat alone is to be used the cooking in water should be as follows : Plunge the cut of meat at once into a generous supply of boiling water and keep the water at boiling point for ten minutes.

Stewing Meat — If both broth and the meat are to be used the process of cooking should be different from that for boiling meat. In stewing, the meat should be cut into small pieces and instead of being quickly plunged into hot water should be put into cold water, in order that much of the juice and flavoring materials be dissolved. The temperature should then be raised to about 180 F. where it should be kept for

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several hours. Treated in this way the broth will be rich and the meat still tender and juicy. However, if the water is much hotter than 180 F., the meat will be dry and fibrous and prolonged boiling will only make it drier and firmer.

Broths — The quantities of the ingredients in a meat broth may be illustrated by a German experiment: One pound of beef and 7 ounces of veal bones gave about 1 pint of strong broth or soup. Very palatable broths can be made by using more water and adding savory herbs.

Roasting — The principal difference between roasting and boiling is in the medium in which the meat is cooked. In boiling the meat is surrounded by boiling water, in roasting by hot air, although in roasting proper much of the heat comes to the joint as radient heat. In both cases the fibres of the meat are cooked in their own juices.

When the meat alone is to be eaten, either roasting, broiling or frying in deep fat is, when properly done, a more rational method than boiling, for the juices are very largely saved. It is interesting and at the same time important to remember that the smaller the cut to be roasted, the hotter should be the fire. An intensely hot fire coagulates the exter- ior and prevents the drying up of the meat juices. This method does not apply to large cuts, because meats are poor conductors and a large piece of meat would soon become burned on the exterior before it reached the interior. Hence the rule the smaller the cut the higher the temperature to which it should be exposed. The broiling of a steak or chop is done exactly on this principle. A steak exposed to an intense heat for ten minutes is thoroughly cooked and has yet that rare, juicy appearance which is so desirable.

Vegetables of distinctive flavor, such as onions, carrots, or celery ; savory herbs such as parsley, thyme, and materials, such as vinegar, pickles or currant jelly; spices, such as pep- per, cloves, curry mixture and sharp or highly seasoned meat sauces are all types of flavoring materials which may be used in a great variety of ways. In fact the number of tasty dishes which a good cook can make out of the cheaper cuts of meat

or meat leftovers is almost endless. Undoubtedly more time and skill are required in their preparation than in the simple cooking of the more expensive cuts, just as more time and skill are required for careful, intelligent marketing than for haphazard ordering.

When Buying Meat — Remember that fresh beef should be firm to the touch and the fat should be cream colored. Avoid beef that looks moist. Mutton should be of a bright red color, with firm white fat. Reject any meat that has even a suspicion of an unpleasant odor. If meat isn't good no amount of cooking will render it wholesome.

Economical Steak — Round steak cooked in exactly the same manner that pot roast is frequently prepared, is delicious and very economical, as every ounce paid for can be eaten. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the round steak, then cut the meat in pieces, dredging each piece thickly with flour. Have the frying pan containing drippings or butter very hot and "brown the steak. At the same time allow one onion to fry light brown in the pan. Cover the meat with cold water and allow it to cook slowly until the meat is tender and the sauce a rich brown. Serve the sauce on the platter with the meat. Veal cutlet cooked in this way is a pleasant variation from being breaded or fried brown.

Roast Fillet of Beef — Dress and lard your fillet of beef and put to soak in salad oil, with salt, pepper, parsley, slices of raw onion, and a laurel leaf, for 12 hours. Roast on the spit for }i of an hour. Serve with its own gravy, simply adding a few drops of vinegar or the juice of a lemon.

Roast Beef With Potatoes — Roast your joint of beef and serve with its own gravy. Boil some potatoes, warm them in melted butter, sprinkle with chopped parsley and hand in a separate dish.

ICluskies or Meat Cakes — Mince 2 pounds of fresh pork very fine, add some bread crumbs soaked in wine, a little grated lemon peel, salt and pepper, roll into balls, flatten them, and fry in butter until a good color.

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Ham Baked in Sherry Wine — Take a small ham or part of a large one, boil until it becomes tender, then remove the skin and stick full of whole cloves, and sprinkle with pepper. Put in a baking pan or roaster and pour over ^ pint of sherry wine and % pint of water, put in oven and brown- Serve hot or cold. MRS. WM. P. IRELAND.

Baked Ham — Take a thick slice of ham, rub into it on both sides 1 teaspoonful of dry mustard and ^ cup of brown sugar, cover it with one cup of hot milk. Cook slowly about 1 hour in oven or until tender.

MRS. AARON SWARTZ.

Baked Ham — Soak over night, next day boil in some water until tender, with 1 cup of vinegar, 1 dozen bay leaves, Yi dozen cloves. When nearly done remove from water, take off skin, stick with cloves and cover with bread crumbs,, and sprinkle with white sugar. Bake until light brown.